Usually the 4lb tumbler is reserved for polishing duty but as there’s not a full load to polish it’s back on grit duty for Batch 36. It’s a load of Gemstone Beach stones collected waaaaaay back in 2019! According to my note with the stones it was really windy the day they were picked up!
I’m also trying out the addition of one tablespoon of borax in which each grit load. My good friend Nicola Grey New Zealand Rockhound along with her best mate Ange do this. There was a post all about this mentioned in the FB Group Amateur Rock Tumblers Worldwide. Apparently Randy Drennen was the initial poster and Scot Jarmer (1Jawsjr) also mentions it on his YouTube channel.
If you are interested, Scot’s video “The Theory or Myth of Burnishing” is also worth the 12:41 mins watch and it’s the reason I probably won’t be burnishing stones anymore either. I think I’m still going to do the 24 hour soap tumble before the stones head into the polish stage just to make sure there’s less chance of grit transference to the polish mix.
Oh and my fingers accidentally slipped and ordered another Lortone 45C Tumbler from the wonderful people at the RockandGemstoneShop – by the time I publish this post it should have arrived by courier and be in action! This means I will have two (yes two) Lortone 33B tumblers and two (yes two) Lortone 45C tumblers! That will be the end of my tumbler purchases for a while now! (Famous last words!)
Batch 36: 4lb Tumbler 1
Stage 1: 80/100grit
Number of Stones: 74
Weight in: 1610g
7 Tbspns of 80/100grit – no pellets
Days Tumbling: 9
Weight out: 1366g – loss of 244grams
Stage 2: 220grit
Number of Stones: 74-11 + 43 + 8 = 114
(removed 11 stones & added 51 B27–28–29 redos)
Weight in: 1832g
7 Tbspns of 220grit + 1 Tbspn borax – pellets added
Days Tumbling: 6 – oops this was a mistake!
Weight out: 1777g – loss of 55grams
Stage 3: 400grit
Number of Stones: 111
(removed 3 stones to redo at 220grit)
Weight in: 1734g
7 Tbspns of 400grit + 1 Tbspn borax – pellets added (9 Tbspns)
Days Tumbling: 10
Weight out: 1585g – loss of 149grams
Soap Tumble: Forgot!!
Batch 36: Pre-tumble
Batch 36: After Stage 1
In this batch I am paying particular attention to the 2/3rds barrel full rule that I’ve read a lot about. I have marked out a former quilting acrylic stick with the 2/3rds for both the 4lb tumbler barrel and the 3lb tumbler barrel. Also added to the polish stage was 9 Tbspns of pellets to cushion the load. I completely forgot to do a 24-hour soap tumble first. I’m guessing my forgetfulness will affect the reuse of the polish mix as it will probably be contaminated with left-behind grit.
Stage 4: Polish Mix
Number of Stones: 111
Weight in: 1585g
Polish Mix (first use): 9 Tbspns of polish mixed with 600mls of clean water. Pellets added. (Didn’t use all of the polish mix – about 150ml left)
Days Tumbling: 6
Burnish: 2 days in 2 Tbspns of borax with 12 Tbspns of pellets for cushioning.
Reflections/Thoughts
The tumbler barrel was really warm when I took it off the tumbler. My initial thinking is that the added borax is causing the warmth. I can’t say that I’ve noticed a better difference in the quality of the polish. There’s a few stones in this batch that are smooth but they just don’t seem to have the shiny shine that I usually get with Gemstone Beach finds.
Polish Complete
Polished Stones of Interest: Batch 36
Batch 36 | 4lb Tumbler | Gemstone Beach | 18 October – 21 November 2023
Some really interesting stones there!